Multipolarity Rearmed
Multipolarity Rearmed was an attempted redux of The Multipolar World with a revised ruleset to address players' complaints from the original game, particularly regarding failed mechanics. Hosted by Thorvald of Lym from May 27, 2012, the game ran for about one month over six updates before real-life constraints forced its suspension. Originally intended to be double-hosted on Taniciusfox's board, this was silently dropped due to incompatible table formatting that would have lengthened update time; the board was used for some auxiliary roleplay, notably Renfair's narrative. Like The Aftermath, there are suggestions the game may be revived in the future. Game mechanics The game is set in the year 2222, with each turn representing a 3-month season. Rather than follow a fixed update schedule, orders lock 24-48 hours after at least half the active players responded. Orders processing is broken into combat, espionage, and important political changes including clientage and revolutions. National powers In addition to the usual nation profile, players could also select one of six traits that provide unique bonuses to their countries: Agricultural Population grows by up to 8% per turn. Newly settled territories add 2 extra population units. Industrious National industry grows by up to 7.5% per turn. Infrastructure investment is worth an extra 10%. Commercial Global trade revenue earns an extra 50%. Militaristic Victory odds in combat receive a 15% bonus. Scientific Research or industry investment is worth a bonus 10%; not cumulative with the Industrious trait. This power can be gifted or rented out to other nations. Expansionist Low chance of a client territory defecting to the player's nation when the player's GNI exceeds the client's by 75%. Territory gained by conquest has a +5% chance of assimilation. Twice as much chance of a baby boom random event. Territory The world map, designed by taillesskangaru, is an improved version of the regional world map from older games, with increased provinces based on contemporary population concentrations. Some islands were grouped as chains or tied to continental territory, thereby counting as a single province. Expansion is achieved through direct military occupation; each turn, armies can claim neutral provinces. Non-contiguous claims are limited to 5 per turn. Players began with 5 territories providing 5 units of population. Additional claims increase population by 1 by default. Economy Players have an 'industry' rating that provides a general measure of national development. At game's start, this rating was 1.00; infrastructure can be improved through direct investment, and will grow naturally by a random percentage. Gross national income is the product of population times industry; a nation's income is derived from the tax rate on GNI. A percentage of the average of every player's GNI constitutes additional revenue garnered through international trade. Embargoes deny the two players each other's portion of this trade surplus. As a stand-alone measure, its impact is minimal and detrimental to both parties, but as part of an international effort is much more effective in containing a target country. Nations at war assume embargo by default. Military Military forces are divided into Land, Sea, and Air, with varying purchase prices, population costs, and upkeep fees. Armed forces can be demobilized, returning their population value to the civilian sector. Fleets and air wings can transport forces (overseas and continentally, respectively) at a ratio of 1:1. New players begin with a single army. MPR introduces a stability mechanic based on military-to-civilian population ratio. The optimal size of total armed forces is between 10-35% of the civilian population; over- or undersized standing armies increase revolt risk relative to their disparity from this range. Combat One of the most important changes from the original Multipolarity was the combat mechanic, based on Sonereal's Standardized Combat System. Rather than a fight to the death, opposing armies inflict casualties on one another proportional to technology level. When fighting in its own theatre, unit strength is compared by quantity times tech level, with varying circumstantial and roleplay bonuses to both sides. Naval and air forces can provide fire support to ground battles. Forces pool worldwide, but players can specify concentration to influence the odds of engagement. After order lock, battles are declared publicly and an additional 24-48 hours provided for defenders to amend orders and levy additional troops. Standing spending cannot be renegotiated; thus, players are advised to maintain a budget surplus for emergencies. No mechanic currently exists to determine captured territory, meaning it is decided by GM discretion. Conquered land becomes a zone of occupation, providing population but no income, and will generate partisan forces for the duration of the war. Each turn, there is a chance of a province's assimilation into the conquering country, ranging from 1-10%, determined by a number of statistical and roleplay factors. During assimilation, industry rating averages out between victor and vanquished. Research Military technology is divided by theatre at a cost of 50n per level; each level improves overall combat odds vis-à-vis enemy forces, susceptibility to casualty, whether casualties are killed or captured, and in the case of air forces and navies, the odds of damaging ground forces. Espionage Nations can recruit spy agents to conduct a variety of missions. As with armed forces, spies cost population and incur upkeep, but do not contribute to military pop. ratio. Agents pool nation-wide and can strike any player; operations always remain clandestine, unless a player's orders are stolen. Mission success is based on spy tech level and the number of agents on each side; there is a 10% chance of the operation being exposed, leading to a shoot-out between the opposing forces. In addition to standard countries, MPR features two (ostensibly) player-led terrorist factions (euphemistically known as "non-governmental organizations") that train specialized agents to act as both spies and soldiers. Terrorists have access to unique espionage missions, and can subvert control of non-player countries through coups d'état to secure funding and conventional military support. WMD Weapons of mass destruction are classified into three types: nuclear, chemical, and "neutron", each with different strategic effects. Technology spans ten tiers, costing 150''n'' per level, each increasing warhead potency. Individual missile cost doubles per tier and ramps up 50% per number of standing warheads. Additionally, ballistics tech is a progressive investment that increases the odds of a successful strike. Players also pay into a similarly-structured missile shield that can be pooled amongst nations; ballistics over SDI represents success odds, with a minimum chance of 1%. Diplomacy Diplomacy is conducted player-to-player, with treaties and relations tracked on the front page. It is generally non-binding mechanically, excepting embargoes and naval blockades. MPR features a United Nations social group for international conflict resolution. In keeping with Thorvald's tradition of mediation over arbitration, at the start of the game it is only responsible for reporting disputed claims; it does contain provisions for territorial trusteeship and a basic framework for an international peacekeeping force. NPCs Players may also choose to negotiate with a set of non-player countries both bilaterally, and by establishing them as client states through economic buyout or political subversion. Clients will provide their hegemon with 10% of their revenue and generally support the player diplomatically. They were originally intended to be given specific personalities akin to Multipolarity II, but due to time constraints on Thorvald's part it never reached proper fruition. Revolt risk Revolt risk is a measure of national approval, influenced by a variety of factors both mechanical and roleplayed. It represents the chance each turn of public protest, the size and scope varying based on the source and extent of displeasure. The consequences of revolt depend on whether the player's government is functionally democratic or dictatorial: in the former, parliament may impose limits on player action; in the latter, dissent may manifest as armed insurrection. Storyline The game's opening alludes to the circumstances of Multipolarity's collapse as the "Great Powergame", but is otherwise a separate continuity. Widespread revolts began in late Spring 2222 as a result of players' military overexpansion. The most notorious of these was the Soviet rebellion, which quickly spiralled into an out-and-out civil war as a result of christos200's inflexible hard line stance. A number of diplomatic blunders on the international scene soon saw nigh-unanimous global support for the rebels, and the "Soviet Duo" abdicated by year's end, leading to Russia's reconstitution as a democracy in the spring of 2223. See also * The Multipolar World * Multipolarity II